Dancing Fireflies
by Moonwish1
Summary: It was 15 years after the Fourth Great World War. Peace was in prosperity. But could there be something brimming amongst a coming storm, threatening to disrupt the balance of the Shinobi world? He will be burdened with struggles and sacrifices. This is Inojin's story.
1. A Fateful Meeting

Dancing Fireflies

 **Author's Note** :

Hello all! This is my first piece written in the Naruto universe! It was a bit of a challenge and it was definitely exciting but I am pleased with what I had ended up with. I'm going to warn that this is set **AFTER** Boruto: Naruto the Movie. So if anyone hasn't watched it or doesn't want spoilers, then don't read this piece just yet!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

Enjoy!

* * *

It was already late afternoon.

The sun was just starting to set upon the horizon, gently painting the sky with varying colors of pink, purple and orange against the previous hues of blue. It casted it's reflection against the tranquil waters of the quiet lake and the steady chirping of crickets further proclaimed that peace is what this area essentially holds. It was also the place where he had first met her.

The blond-haired boy simply sighed, leaning against his willow tree. Inojin came to this place, _his_ special place, whenever he was feeling especially exhausted, frustrated or at a loss. It was just a few days after Konoha was abruptly attacked by Momoshiki and Kinshiki Otsutsuki during the third round of the Chuunin Exam. And now the destroyed parts of the city, especially where the stadium used to be, had to be repaired. All of the Leaf's Genin teams were busy contributing to the efforts of rebuilding; thus, the Chuunin Exam was currently called off at the moment.

Inojin inwardly groaned as he loosened his strained arms and slid down to the base of the tree to sit. He took off his sword from his shoulders and placed it besides him to lean back and enjoy the soft summer breeze.

He thought back to the immense panic and destruction. People shouting, debris flying everywhere, and blasts of powerful chakra filled the arena. It was shocking, as Konoha had acquired relative peace since the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War. Sure there were a few incidents from rogue nin from time to time and some rumors of political unrest from smaller countries, but that was all there was.

With a shake of his head, Inojin then wondered what they'll do about the disrupted third round. _Would we all have to retake the whole thing again?_

He had put in many months of preparation. Training and trying to perfect all he could know of both the mind and art techniques from the Yamanaka clan and his father. Inojin even had tried to influence his own teammates, Shikadai and Chocho to work just as hard. As much as they were supposedly lazy and unconcerned for the most part, they all did well during the first two rounds.

The corner of his lips lifted into a slight grin. His team worked well overall, despite the fact that his teammates didn't share as much interest for training as the Yamanaka did. But, he was sure that after the incident a few days ago, they'll come around and work hard to prevent something as dangerous as that from ever happening again. _Though…ugh._

The thought of possibly retaking the _whole_ Chuunin Exam bothered him. "All that preparation had gone to waste…" Inojin muttered, lowering his head down. Well, he can only hope that there was an alternative way the Kages would think of that would benefit his team. After all, they had made it into the final round!

He shifted away from his thoughts as he heard the parting of grass and soft pattering of feet behind him. Inojin turned his head and saw a girl with short dark hair wearing a light sweater and skirt with knee high stockings.

She didn't seem to notice him as she continued to walk past his tree. The young girl, probably from the academy, crouched down once she reached the edge of the water and laid her head on her knees.

The Yamanaka continued to look on in curiosity. He had never seen anyone around this lake since he had discovered this place a while ago. At least never when he was there. While he continued to ponder whether he should stay or silently leave, the genin started to hear soft sounds of…crying. Inojin stared at the back of the crouched girl, not knowing what to do.

After a few moments, he simply sighed, slung his sword back onto his shoulders and got up to slowly walk towards her. If he wanted to approach her, the blond-haired boy had to be cautious and not frighten her.

When he was close enough, he crouched down and gently touched her shoulder. The girl flinched and looked up at him in shock. Inojin gave her a small reassuring smile.

"I was sitting by the willow tree before and noticed that you were crying…" He paused. "Are you okay?"

The young girl sniffed and wiped away her tears with her sleeve as he sat down next her. Her clear blue eyes looked back upon his gentle green ones. He seemed like a friendly person. Her lips parted and the girl seemed to hesitate.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's alright. We can just sit together if that will make you feel better."

She then smiled shyly back, "Oh…it's nothing really. I guess I was just scared of what happened to my brother and father…" Inojin frowned at this and ushered her to continue. "They went on a mission together and I was afraid. I thought of what could have happened if it went wrong."

He let the information sink in and then blinked in confusion. _Wait, that sounds like…_

"Are you _Boruto's_ sister?" His face was struck in sudden understanding. The said girl smiled a little at his reaction and nodded.

"Hai. I'm Himawari Uzumaki. Daughter of the seventh Hokage…and sister of Boruto Uzumaki." She smiled with pride before asking his name. Inojin laughed lightly. _She's a_ _sunflower…literally._

"Inojin Yamanaka. Son of the Yamanaka clan leader. At your service!" Himawari laughed at this, her face brightening with happiness.

The Yamanaka warmly smiled before wondering, "So I guess you were really worried for them right? Those few days ago." Himawari blinked sadly.

"I've been having some nightmares…" He nodded carefully in agreement.

"I know that it can be scary at times…but your father's an experienced shinobi and Boruto is surely going to be a great ninja himself in the future. All shinobi have to go through such difficulties, as dangerous as they be." She hummed in acknowledgement and determinately huffed.

"I want to be strong too! To protect my home and everyone I care for." The blond-haired boy looked at her in amusement.

"So, that's why you must promise me that you'll work hard from now on and become the great ninja you _will_ be." Himawari widened her eyes at his and then grinned.

"Hai! And you must promise _me_ that you'll become an even greater shinobi that no one had ever expected!" He lightly laughed with a slight grimace.

"But first, I must pass to become a Chuunin. And who knows what the Kages will decide on what to do."

Himawari scrunched up her eyebrows and nodded sympathetically. She had heard that the exam was interrupted and called off. The kind hearted Genin seemed disturbed by the current circumstances and she wanted to cheer him up.

She then gently grasped his hand with one of her own, much to the boy's surprise.

"I'm sure you'll become a great Chuunin, Inojin-kun," Himawari softly encouraged with a smile.

For a few moments, Inojin had looked at their clasped hands. Never had any of his own friends given him encouragement when it was needed, but this young girl, whom he had just met, decided to do just that. He was touched.

"…Thank you, Himawari-san. It's nice to hear that from someone."

He gently separated their adjoined hands and proceeded to pat her head affectionately. Himawari cutely pouted at him and Inojin suddenly laughed.

"Hm, so I have the honor to be Inojin- _kun_?" He lightly teased. Himawari tried to give him a glare…before failing completely. The two had burst into laughter, filling the darkening quiet area with happiness.

As he calmed down, Inojin decidedly looked around and noticed that the sun had set a while ago. The fireflies were out, flickering gently from place to place like small flying lanterns, luminescing the waters and skies with their enchanting display.

"I wonder why the fireflies glow like that," She whispered in wonder.

The pair continued to watch the fireflies around them in awe. It didn't seem like they were still in the midst of Konoha. This place and this moment felt like it belonged to a whole other world. And he didn't mind sharing it with her.

"Maybe the fireflies are each trying to find something important to them."

After a while of comfortable silence, Inojin got up and patted down his clothes before extending his hand to Himawari.

"It's pretty late now. I can walk you home if you'd like." She took his hand and nodded gratefully.

"Thank you, Inojin-kun. My mother is still resting at home and Boruto is probably wondering where I am. I don't usually go off by myself." He waved it off nonchalantly before giving her a reassuring smile.

"I don't mind at all! Plus I'll get to talk to Boruto for a while before I head off. I haven't had the chance to talk to him today." Himawari gave him a warm smile and led the way.

"Thank you again for talking to me before when I was crying." She whispered back, after a brief moment of silence.

"Ah…don't mention it." The blond-haired boy gave her hand a friendly squeeze as she looked back and tilted her head in curiosity.

"So…are we friends now?" Inojin blinked at the sudden question before smiling warmly.

"If you want me to."

* * *

 **Author's Note** :

So how was it? I'm open to thoughts and suggestions. Please, **R &R**! I love reading reviews~

Thank you for reading, my lovelies!


	2. The Mission

**Author's Note** :

Hey all! I'm back again with another chapter~ I've decided to make this into a chaptered fic. So yay, good news for those who wanted more! I have a plan for this story and it will slowly go in deeper as the chapters go along. I'm quite excited for how this will turn out. As a result, I will be trying to update on a weekly basis.

Thank you all so much for reviewing, favoriting and following this story! I hope everyone enjoys this new chapter as well.

Disclaimer: Only Kishimoto owns Naruto!

* * *

His soft footsteps echoed throughout the silent hall of the Hokage building as he felt his every heartbeat hasten in anticipation. It was several weeks after the assault and the Leaf village was slowly renovating back towards the way it used to be.

After his encounter with Himawari that evening, they often met up at their secret lake spot to talk after finishing school or tasks for the day. He often gave her tips on her chakra control and fighting techniques. They were becoming close friends.

But back to focus on the matter of hand. Inojin's mind aimlessly wandered off on what he could have been possibly called upon for from the seventh Hokage. It was mid-morning, a few hours after the sun had risen. Perhaps something urgent then. _Maybe a mission? It_ has _been a while._

Of course all of his past shinobi missions were of simple D and C-ranks. Ever since the mass rebuilding, the boy was longing for a C-rank. He wanted to finally get back on his toes and venture out from the safe havens of Konohagakure once again to travel, visiting the other vast lands of the shinobi region. The Yamanaka liked the aspect of going on adventures and gaining new experience.

He finally stopped in front of the door leading into the Hokage's office and waited for a bit before gently knocking twice against the wooden frame.

"Come in."

He recognized the commanding, yet warm voice to be of his Hokage and opened the door to enter in. Naruto was sitting with his hands crossed in front of him at his desk with huge piles of paperwork cluttering around him. With dark circles under his strong blue eyes, the Hokage looked like he hadn't gotten much of a decent sleep for a while.

"Ah, I knew you would be the first one to arrive!" Inojin looked sheepishly towards his sensei, who was standing to the right side of the Hokage's desk.

"I'm sure Shikadai and Chocho will be here soon, Moegi-sensei" He assured the orange-haired kunoichi as she chuckled softly. Moegi now sported two descending long ponytails, grown to midback length throughout the years. She was renowned throughout the Land of Fire to be a skilled tracker and stealthy shinobi.

"I heard a lot of good things about you, Inojin" Naruto said with a grin. "You look just like your mother and father." The Yamanaka knew that the Hokage had been in the same team with his father back in the day, and he was also longtime friends with his mother. Despite that fact, he rarely ever saw Naruto, the _real_ Naruto, not one of his shadow clones, visiting his parents. He was too much of a busy and important man.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." He answered back respectfully. "May I ask why we were called together?" Naruto laughed and waved his hand.

"Let's have the whole team gather first," The Hokage gave him a slight smile. "Meanwhile, I've been hearing that you and Himawari are good friends?" Inojin blinked and carefully nodded. He did not know that Himawari would talk about him to her father.

"You seem to be an important person to her," Naruto murmured thoughtfully. "Thank you, as I feel like she can become lonely at times, despite her bright personality. It doesn't help that I'm not home as often as I would like to be."

"It's not a problem. She's an intelligent and thoughtful girl," He answered truthfully. "I can tell Himawari was brought up well." To his surprise, the Hokage heartily laughed.

"Well, it was more of Hinata's parenting than _mine_ ," Naruto grinned back as Moegi facepalmed herself. Before more could be said, the door opened and two pairs of feet walked in.

"Eh, sorry. Hope we're not late or anything. Those stairs were troublesome," Shikadai said with a lazy drawl while Chocho nodded grimly next to him. It would have been a rather comedic sight, except they were in the presence of the Hokage. Moegi and Inojin sighed in exasperation as Naruto smiled amusingly.

"Well now…it seems like everyone's here," The Uzumaki exclaimed with a twinkle in his eye. Moegi nodded.

"Now let's get down to business." The three pairs of eyes stared back between him and their sensei in confusion, waiting for the rest to be said.

"Team Moegi, congrats. You three are now promoted to Chuunin." The Hokage allowed his words to sink in before peering at their shocked expressions. Inojin had not expected this. And neither did his teammates. Moegi gazed proudly at her students. She could not have asked to mentor a team as intelligent and skilled as them. Naruto had discussed with her before inquiring of their deserved promotions. The three, now, Chuunins absentmindedly nodded to Naruto.

"I was pleased with Team Moegi's performance during the exams," He continued on. "The only Genin team that I had decided to promote." The Yamanaka briefly wondered at this before his question was asked by one of his teammates.

"What about Sarada and Mizuki?" Chocho asked. "They both did well and were even matched up against each other in the semi-final round." The Hokage softly smiled.

"I did privately speak to them both of promoting them to Chunin, but they had declined," Naruto replied. "They wanted to become Chuunin along with Boruto, as a full team." Inojin inwardly smiled at this and nodded. Team Konohamaru had such a strong bond, it was no wonder that Sarada and Mizuki decided to do that. If it were his own team, then they would have done the same in a heartbeat. The Hokage waited for a bit before continuing on.

"Now if there are no other matters to discuss, I have summoned Team Moegi for another reason," The Uzumaki said, seemingly becoming more serious. The other occupants of the room tensed in response. "I have a mission for this team. It is classified as a B-rank." _A B-rank mission. My first one._ His green eyes took a glance at the Nara and Akimichi beside him. They both looked intensely calm and solemn as he was.

"Who's our target?" Shikadai inquired curiously. All though many of their past missions involved escorting and retrieving people or items of value, Team Moegi mainly utilizes techniques in tracking down objectives for espionage purposes and even for assassinations, if necessary. This would be their first mission involving these specific honed skills.

Naruto shifted around under his desk and slid an opened mission folder towards them. They gathered around to examine the contents.

"Inaho Mizuhara, a jounin, defected from the village last night as she was found to have killed another fellow jounin in an alleyway due to a certain…confrontation," The Hokage informed with a frown before continuing. "There was a shinobi who had overheard and described in full detail of it. The information had matched upon inspection of the corpse. From what the witness had provided, Inaho was rambling about how 'she was an important link' and that she 'was going away to the Valleys'...After a long chase, she had unfortunately managed to escape." He took a pause. "We are assuming that she will be at Tanigakure in the Land of Rivers, a few days south from Konoha." Silence filled the room.

"Are our orders to bring her back or to eliminate her?" Inojin heard his sensei question firmly. Naruto shook his head.

"The orders are to find out why exactly Inaho committed her crime, causing her to defect from the Leaf and what she might possibly be involved in. Only then will you arrest her. If she resists…then kill her. Keep me posted as the mission goes on," The Hokage gave everyone a final nod. "Be safe. Dismissed."

"Hai" The room chorused with four sharp voices. Moegi turned to look at her students.

"Go and prepare for the mission. We'll meet up at the front of the village gates and leave in an hour."

* * *

…A spare change of clothes? _Check._ Enough kunai and shuriken? _Check._ A first aid kit? _Check._ _Well, I guess that's about everything._

Inojin closed his backpack and tossed it around his shoulders along with his sword. He glanced around his room, eying everything in place before staring intently on his desk at a family picture of his parents and himself, taken about a year ago. He sat between his parents with a wide grin while his mother embraced him and his father ruffled his loose blond hair playfully.

The Yamanaka estimated that the mission would take no longer than a week at most, as Tanigakure wasn't a large village, but things can easily get off track. He'll miss his family. Inojin shook his head and quickly walked out of his room to go downstairs. His father, Sai, was home at the moment and found him sitting on the couch with a cup of tea. He was quick to inform him of his new ranking and sudden departure for the mission before he packed.

"Bye, _Tousan_. I'll be back before you know it," The boy quickly wrapped his arms around his father from behind the couch. "Tell _Kaasan_ that I love her." Inojin didn't have time to say goodbye to his mother at the Torture and Interrogation building, and even if he did…his mother would probably throw a fit. In public, of course. Sai shifted his head to get a better look at his son and patted the arms entangling him assuringly.

"Be careful out there. I will let your mother know that you are a Chunin now," His father stated with a smile. "She will be so proud." The boy had wanted to see his mother's reaction himself, but couldn't do so. Inojin then let go and ran towards the door, waving his hand behind him.

"I'll be leaving now!" He heard a murmured response as the door closed behind him. Before he could leap onto the roof across from him to quicken his way towards the entrance gates, there was a shout...or was it two shouts?

"Hey, wait up!" Boruto and Himawari ran up to him before stopping and heaving in quick breaths.

"What are you guys doing here? And Himawari, aren't you supposed to be going to the Academy soon?" The said girl rolled her eyes.

"Boruto just heard from Sarada who heard from Chocho and Shikadai that you guys were leaving soon. So we came and wanted to say goodbye to you before you left!" She exclaimed in a single breath. He gave her an incredulous look in return. _Word seems to fly around pretty fast._

"Yea, I was just about to go to the front gates now," Boruto eyes widened in excitement.

"Awesome! Your first _real_ mission! How're you feeling? Give me a hint on what's it about?" _Excited. Slightly worried. Might have to kill a now missing nin. But other than all that…I'm decent._

"I'm alright, I guess. I won't be back until maybe a week or so," He stated modestly. The blond Uzumaki crossed his arms and sighed.

"Guess I'm not going get any little clues, am I?" His sister nudged him.

"It's a _classified_ mission, dummy! Of course he's not going to tell." Inojin laughed and bended down to her eye level, ruffling her hair during the process.

"Now you be good while I'm gone," He said as Himawari stuck her tongue out playfully and nodded. Boruto watched the exchange in shocked fascination.

"How come she's so well behaved around you? I'm her older brother and she's always so rowdy and annoying when I tell her-"

"That's because _you_ are the one who always eats all of _my_ snacks that mom gets for me and-"

"Hey… _hey_!" Inojin ushered the two siblings before it could escalate into a full blown quarrel about food in the wee hours of the morning. _And they were right outside the Yamanaka compound too!_ Besides, he didn't want to get a headache before the mission actually started. "Ah! Well, I should be off now. Don't want Moegi-sensei to get mad at me! See you both."

"As if you're ever late," Boruto exclaimed with a grin before putting his arm around his sister. "Take care of yourself!" Himawari nodded in agreement, looking a bit forlorn.

" _Ja ne_ , Inojin-kun" She called out softly as he easily leaped onto the rooftop.

* * *

"Hm, so _now_ who's the late one?" Annoyed green eyes met mischievous teal ones as he landed neatly onto the dirt pathway. The blond looked ahead to find that Moegi and Chocho were already waiting along with Shikadai.

"He's not late, Shikadai. As a matter of fact, he's right on time!" Moegi called out cheerfully while giving the Nara a _don't-cause-any-trouble_ look.

"I don't mind. I took the time to eat," Chocho exclaimed, holding up a bag of half-eaten chips. "Want some?" Inojin sweatdropped and declined from the offer. Their orange-haired sensei shook her head in amusement before getting serious and gathered the three's attention.

"Okay guys. Are we all ready?" The Chuunins nodded their heads in eagerness. "Great! Now as always, stay alert. Especially when we enter the Land of Rivers, even if it is a neutral country. We'll reach Tanigakure around two to three days. Alright, let's move out!"

With that, the four shinobi swiftly left the gates in formation with Moegi in the front, following by Shikadai and Chocho as Inojin brought up the rear. As the group zipped through a seemingly endless amount of trees in silence, the blond felt a small inklet of unease settling into his heart. He did not know why.

* * *

 **Author's Note** :

Inaho is indeed a canon character from Naruto who participated briefly in the beginning of the series. She did not have an official surname, so I had made one up.

As always, please **R &R**! Oh and I have also changed the rating from K+ to T in reference for what may happen in future chapters. Take care, my lovelies!

 _Tousan_ = father

 _Kaasan =_ mother

 _Ja ne_ = See you


	3. Stormy Eyes

**Author's Note:** Hello all! Welcome back to another chapter. I think you are all in for a treat, as this chapter is longer than I had originally thought it would be! This is also an incredibly important chapter in the story with a lot of action.

Thank you so much for the continuous support. Whether it would be leaving a review, giving the story a favorite, or following it.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto by any means. But Raiku is of my own creation!

* * *

Rain was pouring down heavily as stealthy quick footsteps splashed through a puddle. It had been raining for the whole day. The orange-haired kunoichi who was in the front of the group looked back to her students, who were all wearing dark cloaks with hoods on.

"We'll be reaching Tanigakure in a few moments. Suppress your chakra signatures. We're going to rest for a bit at the inn."

The group departed with haste from Konoha and only took a few breaks in between the journey. The team hadn't encountered too much trouble along the way, passing by a few travelers and a group of allied Suna ninjas. They did get ambushed by a couple of, unfortunate, amateur bandits between the borders of the Land of Fire and Rivers.

Nothing they couldn't handle.

The Yamanaka could see the lit village ahead of him now. Tanigakure wasn't as modern looking and advanced as Konohagakure, inhabiting simple residence houses and several two-story buildings. He glimpsed to the left where a small ravine occupied a raging river before slowing down into the main entrance.

Moegi gestured toward the right side where the village's inn was and they followed along. Inojin took one last look outside at the few civilians scrambling to their homes from the pouring rain before welcoming the warmth of the inn.

His sensei spoke quietly to the elderly innkeeper at the front and exchanged two keys for a few coins. The four silently trekked up the stairs to find their temporary rooms.

Moegi tossed a key to Shikadai as they rounded the corner and gave the boys a tired smile.

"You two go settle in now. Chocho and I will be in the room a few doors down. We'll plan out the details a bit later."

With nods, the group split and the Nara fumbled with the lock before opening the door and turning on the light switch. It was a standard room with a worn looking couch, an armchair, a brown desk, two nightstands, and a double bed. They both took off their cloaks and backpacks, lying them down onto the wooden floor by the door to dry.

"You don't mind sharing the bed, do you?" Shikadai asked with a slight upward lift in the corner of his mouth.

"Whatever makes you comfortable," He responded in amusement. "Just don't steal the blankets all to yourself and take my share of the bed." His teammate ceremoniously flopped onto the mattress.

"You know that I can't guarantee it." Inojin softly scoffed at the muffled voice and took a well needed seat on the couch.

They enjoyed the comfortable silence for a while as the rain outside continued to shower down at a soothingly rhythmic pace against the window. Now that they were here, all they had to do was narrow down to where Inaho was supposedly hiding in the village. She probably has people assisting her, if that was the case. They would have to first start by asking around the villagers for information.

"Do you want to start investigating?" Shikadai asked as he rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling. The Nara seemed to be thinking the same thing. "We can get a head start."

"Only if you're up for it. We've been traveling at a constant pace," The blond cautioned. His teammate sat up from the bed and gave him a shrug.

"The sooner we find out what's going on, then the sooner we'll complete the mission." Inojin nodded at this and stood up.

"Okay, let's start with the innkeeper. I'm pretty sure she would know something since most guests would visit the inn." Shikadai was already on his feet and halfway to the door.

"I thought the same."

* * *

They approached the innkeeper at the front desk. She was a small, elderly woman who seems to manage the local inn by herself, along with a few workers. The woman glanced up upon seeing their Hidden Leaf insignia headbands before bowing her head respectfully, smiling at them.

"How can I help, young ones?" They returned smiles of their own as the Nara pulled out a picture from his pocket.

"We're looking for this woman in the photo. Have you seen her around here?" She frowned a bit, eyeing at the image in sudden slight apprehension. _She knows something._

There was a pause. The elderly innkeeper slowly withdrew her eyes from the picture, glancing between them before attentively looking at her hand on the desk. Inojin instinctively followed her gaze. Her pointer finger was outstretched, indicating to somewhere behind them.

And then, he noticed. It was slight, but he felt a repressed and seemingly immense fiery chakra flare from someone cold and powerful. He held brief eye contact with his teammate, each giving one another a knowing glance.

"…Ah it seems not, right? Thank you for your time." Shikadai had felt it too, but he continued as if nothing happened.

There weren't many people in the main lounging area. But either way, the strong and fleeting chakra signature disappeared in an instant, even before their sharp ears detected the inn's door softly close behind them. The two Chuunins gave the woman intense stares, willing her to give an explanation. They didn't have much time now.

"I have only seen her a few times. And I know that that man is one of her companions. He seemed to have been waiting here for a while at the inn. For what reason, I do not know."

That was all they had needed to hear. The two ran outside where the rain was now drizzling, and scanned around to track for that specific chakra they had felt before.

"It's faint but I can sense the direction of where he's going. Follow me," Shikadai murmured solemnly. They swiftly sprinted away from the main entrance and towards the back edge of the village, right by the ravine and river.

"He must be skilled if he can sense our chakra from the village before we properly arrived," Inojin stated. Their enemy won't be easy to defeat.

They continued on in tense silence before spotting a small, faintly lit cabin up ahead with a few dense trees shrouding it from the long-distance. It was secluded and away from the village. They stopped and crouched beneath one of the trees, the foliage sheltering them from view. His teammate narrowed his eyes.

"He's inside now."

They couldn't exactly barge in and attack them head-on right then and there. With such an intense amount of chakra, the male himself would surely be a dangerous opponent. And who knows what else may be in store from within the cabin. Besides, they needed to find out what their intentions are. Inojin refocused back to the situation as he spotted something a few feet away. He had an idea.

"Shikadai, inform Moegi-sensei and Chocho that we've found our targets. I'm going in to see what they're likely talking about and gather information." His teammate nodded, understanding what he was about to do.

"I'll leave after you perform it to make sure your body is okay." With that, the blond concentrated onto his host and performed the needed handsign.

" _Mind Transfer Jutsu._ "

* * *

"…They're here for you. How's that so?" The low voice inquired with a hint of growing tension.

The man looked from across the door to the small bed where Inaho was sitting stiffly in response. Bandages were wrapped around both of her arms.

He had messy, wet brown hair flowing to his shoulders and was covered in a cloak. He probably looked like in his twenties. Inojin watched from under the table, his ears perked up and his mouse tail curled around his tiny paws with continued interest.

"I-I didn't think anyone would find out where I would be going!" The brown-haired woman stammered before wavering sadly. "Perhaps I was too emotional…I had to kill my old teammate because he found out."

The man simply raised an eyebrow, his stormy eyes darkening with every second and was suddenly in front of the bed, firmly gripping onto the collar of her shirt. Inojin froze. _He's fast._

"Your error may cost us our lives!" He hissed, piercing down at her widened brown eyes. "You were too careless. I don't have to follow the orders given to me." The woman grimaced at the force placed upon her healing arms but continued to eye evenly with him.

"Because I know too much. If they got their hands on me, the others will be targeted too." She rasped back. He felt his heart skip a beat. _There are others?_

When he had first felt that man's chakra back in the inn, Inojin knew that this mission had more to it than previously known. But now, the Yamanaka dawned in realization that it was becoming far more complex than what a fresh Chuunin team would usually face.

A group of ninjas were involved with something. And it doesn't help that he still hadn't found out what they were plotting to do.

There was a tense silence before the man freed his grasp and looked towards the cabin door with keen attention. Inaho calmly stood up beside him.

"They are all here now," He murmured, seemingly in thought. "Hm. It seems we have no choice but to go up against them. Will you be able to fight on your own?" She gave him a determined nod.

"I can use my arms now. I will be fine."

He gave her an acknowledged glance before slowly, carefully shifting his calculated gaze downwards to hold eye contact with Inojin. He stared back upon the depthless eyes in a mix of shock and horror at the man. _How long did he know!?_

"You're a clever boy with an interesting technique," He drawled out as he casually walked closer and stopping in front of the frightened mouse. "But let's see how well you do against me in a _real_ fight." And then the man slammed his foot down.

* * *

He sharply gasped, flinging open his eyes in shock. He was met with three alarmed and concerned faces, keenly observing him. Inojin shakenly sat up. Had he severed the connection a second too late, his own body would have been crushed to bits.

"There are two of them and they know that we're outside," He stated, out of breath. "They want to fight." Nothing more could have been said as the cabin door flung wide open. But his team was fully prepared.

Moegi quickly pulled her arm, her fingers skillfully entangled with blue chakra strings. With an audible snap, a barrage of tagged explosion kunais was set forth to the cabin from the surrounding trees. As they heard the last few kunais detonating, Chocho raced towards the accumulating smoke and multiplied in size.

" _Leaf-Style Taijutsu: Human Bullet Tank!_ " She yelled, forming into a ball and rolling rapidly into the decimated remains of the hut, crashing amongst anything that persisted from the blasts. The rest of the team surrounded the perimeter with weapons out as the smoke slowly started to clear up.

A battered, lifeless body remained on the mound of debris next to the recovering Akimichi. It was Inaho's. Inojin began to glance around in concentration. _Then where was_ he _?_ And then he felt it, just briefly.

The blond quickly swung around with his sword, clashing against a kunai with sparks. Stoic dark eyes were met with steady green ones. A faint trace of a smirk graced the man's face as they continued countering against each other's weapon. He grimaced, narrowing his eyes. Inojin didn't understand how anyone could still be like this when one's teammate had just died. _Unless…_

Just then, Inaho's body _poofed_ away with a puff of smoke, leaving behind a wooden log. But it was too late.

With a grunt, capturing everyone's attention, Shikadai was forcibly headlocked around the neck by the brown-haired missing nin. But as soon as the Nara made instant eye-contact with her, he suddenly stopped mid-struggle and slumped down. Inaho dropped him to the ground.

"What did you do to him?" Moegi growled dangerously with a glare. The kunoichi gave the team's sensei a glowering smug.

"He's in a genjutsu," She replied rather nonchalantly. "Fight against me. Then, perhaps he will gain consciousness and experience reality once again."

Chocho bristled at this but Moegi wavered, glancing towards the Yamanaka who was still in combat with the other shinobi. His challenger caught her look with a warning.

"I will be the one fighting against _this_ one," The man forced away from Inojin's sword and leaped backwards. "Any move of interfering our battle and Inaho will not hesitate to kill your immobilized student."

With that, he spun around and fled the scene, running towards the ravine and river. Inojin hesitated before giving a fleeting, reassuring look towards his orange-haired sensei and sped off after him.

As each step took him further away, the image of her agonized eyes sustained, fiercely imprinting onto his mind. _I'm no longer your inexperienced Genin. And I vowed to protect my team, no matter what._ He raced past branches and leaves, eying the back of his target.

When they came closer to the churning river, he threw several shuriken deliberately to one side. Right as the man was about to dodge from that side, as Inojin expected, he simultaneously propelled his sword at a calculated angle, directly pinning his opponent's cloak against the ground. The shinobi looked at him, vaguely surprised at the trap. The blond quickly used this opportunity to land a strong double kick onto his abdomen before flipping back. _It's time to use it._

He started to form handseals and leaped back a few feet after the man fell to the ground, staggered from the blow. With the help of Moegi-sensei, Inojin recently mastered an effective but tediously chakra draining jutsu in his main elemental nature.

The withering form struggled, shakenly trying to get up and looked at the Leaf Chuunin. A trail of crimson blood started to slowly trace down from the man's mouth to his chin, dripping gently against the soil. A hint of remorse flickered within his green eyes but he finished off with the last handsign as his body began to envelope with flaming blue chakra.

It wasn't his first kill.

" _Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!_ "

A moment passed and a blast of water abruptly rose from the churning river, enveloping into a golden-eyed water dragon. It intensely snapped its snout at the cloudy sky before crashing down towards the weakened opponent. The Yamanaka exhaled several times as the last torrent of water gave away, creating a small expansion of water where the man used to stand.

He blinked incredulously. His sword still clung to the tattered cloak, but with no trace of its owner's form.

"You're impressive, to be able to handle a jutsu of that power." The brown-haired nin was standing to the side, a pace away, keenly observing him. "I casted a genjutsu on you."

A quiver ran through his body before he inwardly forced it away. Inojin continued to carefully regard him. With his cloak now gone, the man was sporting a simple dark-gray collared shirt with mesh around his elbows and black pants. Wrapped around his right shoulder was a village forehead protector. He gaped.

It was a crossed out insignia of Kumogakure. _What could this missing Kumo nin be doing out here?_ The man took in the blond's reaction, peering at the Lightning village's band.

"That's right. I'm from the Land of Lightning," The brown-haired nin confirmed calmly, shifting his stance. "My name's Raiku. And you shall fall by my hand."

Then, he performed several handsigns to completion and extended his arm beside him. Sparks of blue lightning chakra crackled and began to screech from his palm, intensifying by every second. The blond started to go into shock with realization.

" _Chidori_."

Inojin had known about this infamous ninjutsu. It was only ever used by two renowned shinobis: the Copycat ninja and the Avenger. And both are of the Leaf village. _Where had he learn it from!?_

Raiku came tunneling at him with unexpected speed and he barely dodged it in time, still drained from the usage of his water jutsu. A stray bolt of lightning seared his right leg as the _Chidori_ imploded the earth from where he had stood. The Yamanaka grunted in pain as he lightly leaped away from the impact and stumbled, rolling roughly against the ground and closer to the harsh flowing river.

His head pounded in protest and he hissed, trying to get up on his feet. Inojin shifted his weight and looked down. His partially exposed right leg had a decent sized angry red burn mark from mid-thigh to calf.

"You have great potential. It's a shame that it has to end this way," Raiku gazed at the injured boy, eyes flickering briefly with a hidden emotion. "…Let Inaho and I go and we won't cause any more harm against your team." He narrowed his green eyes in response.

"How could I trust you? You're both dishonorable to your villages as missing nins," Inojin refuted. "Inaho killed her own teammate. And you almost killed me twice!" The Kumo missing-nin blinked slowly at this.

"It was not her intention. Unfortunately, it had to be done or else others will get targeted. Plus, if I really wanted to kill you, I would have done so already. Didn't you notice how I haven't been in offense as much as you?"

He wasn't sure what to think of that. But the Yamanaka winced from the accidental pressure of using his injured leg, reminding him the dangers of missing-nins. They just shouldn't be trusted. He glanced back upon dark eyes. _He could kill me_ and _my team…And I still don't know what their plan is. Plus, he somehow possesses the ability to use Chidori._

Inojin had a choice. _But would it be selfish?_ If he opposed Raiku then the missing-nin would kill him without reluctance. And he needed to survive.

He hoped to the bottom of his heart that the rest of his team would make it out alive. So he made his decision and took a glance at the roaring river behind him.

And he jumped.

Before hitting the harsh flowing waters, Inojin briefly wondered if he could even survive the impact.

He saw his life flash through him. Seeing his mother and father. His first steps. Meeting Boruto and Sarada. Going to the Academy. Learning his first jutsu. Becoming a Genin. Meeting his whole team…becoming friends with Himawari. Becoming a Chuunin.

Cold, dark water enveloped all around Inojin. The strong currents flung his tired and injured body around wildly, depriving him of oxygen, suffocating him.

 _I wish…I could've died closer to home._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Please **R &R**! Also, it is not known of what Inojin's main elemental nature is, so I had chosen water for this story.

I have also changed the summary to fit better with the story now.

Until next time, my dear readers!


	4. A Dream

**Author's Note:** Welcome back everyone! I'm a little behind schedule so I hope everyone remains patient if I ever update a little late. This chapter is a bit less serious and has a more lighter tone. Hope you all enjoy it!

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. My readers are my greatest source of support :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! However, both Raiku and Akari are my original characters.

* * *

He felt surprisingly light. No pain or aches anywhere…and was that grass his hand just briefly brushed over?

His green eyes slowly flickered open and were met with a gentle blue sky scattered with a few fluffy white clouds. Flecks of warm golden rays from the gleaming sun soothingly scattered on him like a blanket between the cracks from the rich green leaves of a tree up above. There were no sounds of any rushing water nearby and the boy doubt that he could have survived. _Am I dead?_

Inojin carefully sat up and regarded his surroundings. He was on a slight hill and going downwards the slope is a meadow full of yellow flowers. His eyes stilled at a standing figure amongst the contrasting brightness of color. A woman.

He got up and began to descend the slope, apathetic of having any sense of caution or unease. The Yamanaka did not know why he doesn't really _feel_ any emotion. It was as if he wasn't quite human anymore. _Maybe once you're dead, emotions disappear too. Or maybe I'm in shock._

As he got closer towards the meadow and the mysterious woman, Inojin realized that the flowers are all sunflowers. A whole field of sunflowers. He blinked at this revelation before fixing his stare back to the stranger. _Himawari would have liked to see this._ He paused. _I still have my memories?_

The blond stopped before the woman, her back facing him. Long, raven hair cascaded down just above her waist where a navy blue obi is tied around a midnight-colored kimono. She radiated with a delicate, but sophisticated aura. The woman must be an important person. _But then, why is she here?_ It didn't seem to make much sense.

"It's not your time yet," The woman spoke calmly, her voice gently flowing with the soft breeze. "As you continue your journey, you will understand. Slowly, but surely." A journey. So then he must not be dead. Inojin wasn't sure if he had a choice to say anything and wavered a bit.

"W-Who are you? And why am I here?"

The woman slightly shifted her head to the side but the blond could only see the outline of her cheek. He could have sworn to have glimpsed a ghost of a smile.

"You don't need to be afraid of me. You are here for a reason," She answered back. "Take it as a sign of what may happen in the future. Things may become different once you will see me again." He frowned, still not knowing what she had meant.

He inwardly snorted, becoming more confused. Something must have happened after he was swept into the river. _Either that or this is some highly advanced genjutsu…or maybe I'm just crazy._

Before he could question even more, the world started to go dark.

The bright blue sky turned gray and clouds quickly disappeared. Unexpected strong gusts of wind blew, seemingly sweeping him away as the world started to slowly swirl around him. The Yamanaka abruptly grimaced at the sudden wave of sheer agony seeping through his body. Pain.

Through his groggy eyes, he took one last glance at the figure before blackness overwhelmed him.

* * *

The soft whispering and murmuring of low voices trickled into his ears, gradually rousing him awake from the odd dream.

"…He _should_ be conscious by now." Inojin heard a female's soft voice echo. They were probably in a cave of sorts.

The Yamanaka regained focus and willingly stilled himself as his trained, heightened senses kicked in, aware of any possible danger. But then he noticed that his forehead, torso and leg felt strained and numb, tightly bounded with something. Bandages. He had been saved from death.

"He is." Inojin stiffened as he recognized the impassive tone. _Raiku._ He abruptly tried to get up before faltering back, hissing against the shooting pain from his wounds.

"Don't move around so much! I used up a lot of my chakra to heal you!" Warm, gentle hands firmly gripped onto his shoulders, lowering him down onto the ground with restrained force. It was a kunoichi. He looked at the young woman with slight unease as his aching head started to throb heavily. _Is she also from the same group Raiku's in?_

Her mid-length red hair was tied back to a messy bun and she wore a simple grey and light-indigo matching tunic and skirt with stockings. She gave a glare warningly to the boy.

"You got off with a few broken ribs and a burnt leg. Luckily, your head hadn't fractured against the boulder in the river." He couldn't help but inwardly scoff at the "burnt leg" part.

"I hadn't scorched my leg from the _river_ , had I?" He looked accusingly at the perpetrator beside the woman and was immediately taken aback. Raiku had bandages around his left shoulder and both of his wrists. The dark, masked eyes observed the boy in return. Inojin couldn't decipher anything from the man's concealed gaze.

"Like I said, there was no intention of killing you. There was no point of having you dead."

There was a brief silence before the dark-haired man turned and walked away to the outside of the cave. The woman glanced at her, supposedly, comrade before looking back to the injured blond.

"He was the one who saved you," She clarified. Her almond-colored eyes strayed over to his bandages carefully. "You know, you were out for almost five days."

Shock began to overwhelm him and his body trembled in response. _Five days!? But…my teammates!_ He bitterly looked away from the woman in grief.

"Then I'm assuming you guys killed my teammates." He failed his team. He failed Konoha. He can never forgive himself now. _How can I ever face my family?_

"No, we didn't." She gave a tired sigh. "Not all missing nins are bloody killers."

The blond slowly looked at the kunoichi and scrutinized her, trying to see if she was telling the truth. She held eye-contact calmly before continuing on.

"They caused such a commotion in a foreign land. Searching for you." His lips slightly curved upward into a wistful smile. "In the end, they had to go back to the Land of Fire. The people of Tanigakure became estranged with Konoha in the aftermath." Inojin suddenly frowned, wondering what had happen while he was fighting against Raiku.

"What happened to Inaho?" He hadn't seen her at all after regaining consciousness.

Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the cave, signaling a certain Kumo nin's return. They looked up and saw Raiku discarding two hares and a small net containing a few caught fish onto the ground.

"She's dead," He informed the boy. "Your team succeeded in cornering her and asked for certain information. She resisted and proceeded to kill herself." The woman shifted her stance and lowered her solemn almond eyes in confirmation.

"She was loyal."

The Yamanaka looked between the two in hesitation. He didn't wholeheartedly trust them. But since they did went out of their way to recover him for many days, Inojin supposed they weren't exactly enemies. He won't question what they were secretly doing. For now.

Raiku strangely sensed his musings and keenly observed the boy.

"We may have saved you. But that does not mean we are Konoha's ally." He nodded tensely. They were neither friends nor foes.

Unfortunately, _that_ was when his pitiful stomach rumbled loudly in complaint, resonating off from the rocky walls. It was as if an angry beast had awoken within the silent cavern.

Inojin inwardly cursed at himself and clutched his stomach in utter embarrassment as the two onlookers deadpanned in matching expressions.

… _Why must this happen to me?_

The red-haired woman started to snicker and loudly slapped her hand over her mouth, unsuccessfully trying to smother the sounds. To his utmost horror, even Raiku gave him a teasing smirk.

"Oh, y-you poor thing! I-I'll go fix up something for us to…to eat!" She exclaimed between her fits of giggles before going off to start a small fire.

As the humiliating moment oh-so slowly drifted away, Raiku took a few steps toward the boy, seemingly towering over him. Inojin was surprised as the man bent down and laid a gentle, warm hand onto his forehead. He looked into his green eyes with a rare hint of…concern?

"How is your head feeling? Akari was worried that something would happen within your mind. She has spent most of the time healing and examining your head the most out of all your injuries."

 _Akari. So that's the medical nin's name._

The blond frowned. He remembered his head pounding after waking up. But by now, the headache had numbed down and thoroughly disappeared. _Though, that was a really strange dream._ He shrugged away the thought.

"I think I'm feeling fine. I only had a little headache after waking up. But that's it." The Kumo nin seemed content with the answer and removed his hand from the blond's forehead. Inojin looked up meekly.

He was always taught by others that rogue nins were evil and immoral. At least, that's what the Academy and his superiors had drilled into his head.

But Inojin had been saved by two. _So, at least some of them aren't like that._

A transient image of crackling chakra sparks pierced through his mind. _Chidori. Right. He knows how to use it._ He took a deep breath.

"You know _Chidori_." The man's stormy eyes seemed to flicker at this. "How?"

"I learned it," Raiku said quietly. The Yamanaka inwardly sighed, realizing that he won't get much out from him. He was pretty sure no other shinobi outside the Leaf village possessed the technique. His _Mind Transfer Jutsu_ would be inefficient and would probably not be a good idea to use. But then, he realized something.

"Where exactly are we? This cave…Are we still in the Land of Rivers?" The strong water current could've swept him quite far from Tanigakure.

"We're hiding between the borders of River, Fire and Grass," The dark-haired man continued, peering into widened green eyes. "This a safe, remote place. No shinobi would cross here." There was a short pause as Inojin hesitated.

"What are you both going to do with me?"

In reality, he was in the hands of these two people, who he had no idea of what their real purpose is, and was far away from home. His teammates, friends, and family probably all thought that he was dead. Inojin's heart sank at the thought.

"I assure you that we will see forth to your safety. You will go back to Konoha." The boy gave him an incredulous look as his mouth gaped wide open. _That's a suicidal mission!_

"Once you step within a mile from Konoha, there's no chance that you guys will make it out alive!" Raiku slightly raised an eyebrow, eyes gleaming in challenge.

"We'll see about that."

He couldn't continue to dispute about the proposed plan as his nose started to detect something that smelled…really good. A hand extended in front of him, holding a bowl of steaming vegetable broth. Inojin carefully sat up in response, trying not to put strain on his injuries.

"I made some soup. You probably shouldn't eat too much solid foods after such a long recovery."

He felt his mouth starting to salivate and dumbly nodded in response, thankfully gathering the warm bowl between his hands. Akari gave him a warm smile and turned to the Kumo nin, gesturing towards the front.

"I made food for us too."

They walked together and soon came back with two bowls of soup and fried fish. The rogue nins sat down beside him and ate in silent contentment.

As he sipped the last of his broth, the red-haired medical nin hummed in curiosity.

"How old do you think we are?" The blond blinked at the unexpected inquiry and slowly glanced between the two. Raiku continued to eat in solemn.

"Uh…You look around twenty? And Raiku looks like he's…twenty-five?" He couldn't help but squirm a little. _What if I guessed wrong? They could get mad._

Instead, Akari laughed at this and slapped her hand carelessly onto Raiku's shoulder a few times, sloshing around the soup he was holding.

"H-He thinks you're…twenty-five," Akari heaved breathlessly, clutching her stomach as she bit her mouth.

The stoic Kumo nin finished his soup steadily, but the corner of his mouth gave away and twitched in annoyance, causing the medical nin to collapse onto the floor with a new fit of laughter. Inojin stammered and muttered a quiet apology as the man warily sighed.

"…Do I really look that old?" The red-haired woman recovered and got up again, smiling at her comrade.

"Oh stop that. He's just a kid." She gave Inojin a wide grin. "I'm actually nineteen. Raiku's twenty."

 _Oops._

But the boy couldn't help but grin along. And as he continued to watch Akari and Raiku converse lightly, the blond felt something change within him.

He trusted them.

* * *

The boy clung onto Raiku for dear life as they swiftly sped away from tree after tree, shrouded in the night's darkness. Inojin still couldn't make much use of his mobility so he had to be carried throughout the journey.

He shivered as the crisp cool air whipped his skin. The seasons were changing.

He had been in a coma for five days. It had been three days since he had woken up. Two of them were for traveling. And he had been presumed dead for almost two weeks. But now, they were just a few ways from Konoha.

 _How would everyone react?_

The Kumo nin abruptly stopped, almost propelling him forward from the man's arms. Akari stopped beside him and gave her companion a questionable look.

"Stay here. I will come back once I place him closer to the village's range." The red-haired woman nodded tersely at this but gave Inojin one last smile.

"Take care. Try not to die anymore in the future," She lightly chided with a wink. The blond blinked gratefully to the medical nin.

"Thank you. For everything." He meant it. They had saved his life when they didn't have to.

The Yamanaka peered from the man's arm as Raiku moved forward, racing away from the spot. The red-haired kunoichi continued to wave until the blond could no longer see her from the cover of the shadows.

They continued on in silence.

Beams of moonlight occasionally glimmered passed them from the canopy of the forest. As every step took him closer to home, Inojin briefly wondered if the sensor nins could detect their suppressed chakras now. _They probably can._

A moment passed and the Kumo nin slowed down to a halt by a pine tree. Raiku gently placed the boy down with Inojin's back resting against the trunk. Troubled green eyes looked up to dark ones as the man withdrew his arms. He wondered if they would ever cross paths in the future.

"If I were to meet you or Akari again…Would it be in battle?" Inojin didn't want to think about the possibility of it. But this was the shinobi world. Where one kills or be killed.

Raiku was silent and glanced up ahead before giving him a fleeting head pat and a soft parting look.

"No."

And then he was gone.

Inojin sat by the base of the tree as time seemed to tick by for eternity. A calm breeze whisked away a small trace of burnt lightning from the air. All of what was left from the Kumo nin's presence.

His ears detected fast steps of approaching Leaf shinobi. The blond shifted his head as bewildered looks came into view from a group of four ninjas.

"He's okay!"

The boy partially expected them to track down Raiku and Akari after finding him. But to his surprise, they did not.

Instead, the group helped gather him up and speeded back to the village.

* * *

He never imagined having to sit in the office of the Hokage with his parents and teammates after being presumed dead for nearly two weeks.

Inojin was greeted by his parents at first. Both looked like a mess. Ino had tears streaming down her face and Sai had dark circles under his lifeless eyes. They hugged him tightly as if they never wanted to let go. His parents then exchanged worried looks to each other as they asked him if he was okay to talk to the Hokage.

The blond looked across to his team. The three looked haggard and seemed to have lost all their energy. Moegi choked back a sob as Chocho sniffed and shakenly started to pat their sensei's back in a soothing manner. He stared into a pair of wavering teal eyes and Shikadai looked away, slowly consuming in guilt.

 _They thought that they had abandoned me._

He looked to the front of him. The seventh Hokage had both hands clasped on the surface of the desk. His blue eyes looked grim but were filled with unrestrained relief. Beside him was an impassive Shikamaru.

Naruto gave a smile to the boy as he was finally put down onto the chair by one of the sensor nins. The group of nins bowed and left the room, closing the door behind them. As soon as they left, he questioned.

"I want to know what happened." Inojin slowly let out a breath.

"They didn't hurt me while I was injured. In fact, they saved me." The Hokage blinked and he continued on. "I'm sorry, but I didn't find out what their true mission is." Naruto pressed his lips together.

"I have a suspicion that part of it has to due with our relations to the Land of Rivers. Tanigakure was of neutral status. Once word got out after the confrontation, its people have accused us of disrupting their peace."

Inojin furrowed his eyebrows before blinking in realization. He felt a bit bitter now, thinking about the two rogue nins.

"I remember…One of them saying that Tanigakure became estranged to Konoha after the fight," He murmured in thought, slightly hesitating. "So was it part of their plan to lure Leaf shinobi into the Land of Rivers' territory?" This time, Shikamaru grunted.

"It seems like they wanted to cause conflict between the two countries. And it worked." The Nara heaved a sigh and gave Inojin a wary look. "What doesn't make sense is why they chose to save you."

Uncomfortable silence occupied the room and the tense blond shifted nervously. _But I really don't know anything else!_

"Shikamaru, are you questioning where my son's loyalty lies?" Inojin turned around and looked at his seething mother. She was gripping her hand into a fist, challenging her former teammate through her fierce eyes. He needed to stop this from escalating any more.

"I-I was in a coma for five days and woke up recently! We were traveling for two straight days. So I really don't know much else…" There were several gasps.

As the tension started to subside, Naruto tiredly waved his hand.

"Alright. Inojin, do you remember anything else that might be useful?" He swallowed and nodded.

"One of them was from the Land of Lightning. Raiku. I don't know why, but he knows _Chidori."_ The Hokage's eyes seemed to spark with something as the rest had fallen in shocked silence.

"What about the other one?" He frowned and wracked around his tired brain.

"Akari. She's a medical nin who healed me…I didn't see any village band on her though," Inojin shook his head in confusion. _At least, I don't think I did. How strange._ But then, he got curious about something else.

"After Raiku left me in the forest, why didn't anyone track them down?" Naruto faintly smiled.

"It was my call and I chose not to. They saved your life, so I spared them…regardless of what their intentions are." He nodded at the response as the Hokage continued.

"Okay. I'm going to dismiss everyone as this is all of the information we know currently. Inojin will temporarily be off duty to heal." Naruto stated in a serious manner. "This is confidential information, so no word shall go out to anyone outside this meeting."

" _Hai_."

They bowed and started to shuffle out.

That was when the door kicked open and a pair of feet stomped into the room. The blond widened his eyes. Himawari.

He took a quick glance out at the door and spotted a sheepish group consisting of Boruto, Sarada and Mizuki before looking back to her.

She had her _Byakugan_ activated. White pearly eyes stared straight at him with veins traced alongside her eyes. He had never seen her use it before.

"I knew it! I never gave up that you were still alive." The young girl carefully wrapped her arms around him into a hug. He patted her back reassuringly and smiled to his friends by the door.

"Don't worry. We couldn't hear anything since the room is sealed." Sarada noted to everyone, besides the Hokage and Shikamaru. "We just wanted to see if he really was alive. So Himawari used her _Byakugan_ through the walls to inspect your chakra system."

The blond rolled his eyes as the young Uchiha stuck out her tongue. _As tactical as always, Sarada._

"Geez, you know how much crying and gloominess I had to put up for almost two weeks from Sarada, Himawari, Chocho...and even Shikadai!?" The blond Uzumaki nagged as Inojin smiled softly.

The young Nara glared at him but faltered as Boruto's watery eyes started brimming. Mizuki patted his teammate's arm as the blond's head drooped towards the ground along with fallen tears.

"That's right." Himawari mumbled against his shoulder and looked up. "And I knew that you'd be okay! The man from my dream said that you'd be!" Inojin suddenly stiffened as shock struck through him.

 _Wait…what?_

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Things just keep getting more confusing, eh? As always, **R &R**!

See you all soon, my readers!


	5. Missing

**Author's Note:** Yay! Another chapter! So sorry that it took so long to update. I'm more busy than I thought nowadays but hope this will make things up! This one is possibly my favorite chapter written up so far. Has some psychological aspects and is definitely a lot more emotional. Hope you all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed typing it.

Thank you so much for all the reviews, favorites and follows!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! But Raiku and Akari, mentioned, are of my own creations!

* * *

"Are you really asking, _again_?"

Orange tinted rays from the sun embalmed onto their backs, casting long, dark shadows from their forms and onto the pavement as they walked along. The blond sheepishly scratched his head and Himawari lightly sighed in exasperation.

"Sorry, Himawari-san. Can you just explain how your dream went along again?"

It was a few months since he was brought back to the Leaf village with the help of Akari and Raiku. And after another week or so of resting and healing, the Yamanaka regained his mobility and went back to his shinobi duties. Things in Konoha almost seemed to revert back to normality after his near death experience. But still, Inojin couldn't help but feel slightly on edge after all this while.

"It's just like I said. In that dream, there was that guy. It was a place I've never been to before. I couldn't really tell what he looked like, but he told me not to worry and…I'm not too sure what else he said," The girl mused at this and suddenly paused, giving him a strange look. "You must think I'm crazy."

He started to wave his hands in protest.

"No, no! Not at all. I'm just…curious." _Maybe I'm just overthinking this. It's probably just a coincidence…_

The girl gave him a hard stare before shrugging and continued to walk along with him. A slight chilly breeze swept through them, gently swaying the scarfs against their jackets.

"Anyways, I hadn't had any dreams like that since then," Himawari seemingly hesitated a bit and glanced at him. "Why do you keep on asking?" The blond warily smiled and shook his head.

"It's nothing. I promise." She didn't seem fully convinced but let go of the subject and walked in silence. Inojin wondered about his current state.

It seemed crazy and delusional. The thought that his and Himawari's dreams are connected in some way. But, he hadn't had a dream consisting of that strange woman ever since.

 _Am I still traumatized? I should have went through with the entire month long therapy session._

"Do you think something will happen between Konoha and the other countries?" The blond shifted to the side and caught her worried look.

It's broadly known throughout the Fire country that relations with the Land of Rivers have weakened. Trade and business between Tanigakure and Konohagakure dwindled immensely.

The Seventh Hokage had immediately called upon the Kage Summit after Inojin's return to discuss the likelihood of danger to all Shinobi countries from the following events. Each of the five great nations is now aware and has agreed to share any information pertaining of their own shinobi from the possibility of defecting or aiding the mysterious group of rogue-nins.

"Other than the fact that the village of Rivers doesn't like us now? Not really." Inojin said with a sigh. He felt partially at fault. In his eyes, he had failed the mission and put his village's relationship with a bordering country in shambles.

"Don't blame yourself," Himawari stated promptly, noticing his grim expression. "My father constantly beats himself up for thoughtlessly involving your team into something so dangerous…I can see it in his eyes."

He slowly looked at her in wonder. The young Uzumaki was just ten years old and she was already so keen in deciphering emotions and reading people. Himawari was very perceptive for her age.

"He must be even busier these days trying to patch things up," He murmured. The girl hummed in response as they stopped at a stone bench and sat down.

A flickering thought crossed him.

"Himawari, do you ever want to become Hokage?" The said girl quickly spun her head to look at him with widened blue eyes. "After all, you are his daughter."

She slightly frowned before shifting her head to look at her hands.

"Not really. I won't have a lot of time with my kids and family then," Himawari answered wistfully as he nodded in sympathy. _It must be hard to not have a father around as often as you want._

He was suddenly driven away from his thoughts and stiffened. Something cold touched his nose for a brief second before melting away. He looked up.

Snow.

Soft, white snowflakes started to smoothly cascade down from the gray sky. Inojin grinned at this and looked beside him to see Himawari happily trying to catch the icy flakes with her mitten-covered hands. Snow was already sticking onto their hair.

The blond had an ingenious idea.

"How about we come back in a few hours with everyone? We'll have the most amazing snowball fight!"

 _It's about time I get back at them for framing me into accidently flooding part of the Konoha library!_

He marveled at the thought of an entirely snow-covered Boruto and Sarada sprawled onto the ground in utter defeat.

* * *

"That's not fair- _umph_ " A certain young, blond Uzumaki exclaimed before a cold snowball impaled into his face. Inojin snickered along with Shikadai and Chocho from behind their snow fort. "Why's my _sister_ on your side!? That's four against three!"

"Not everything's fair right? You should always be prepared for anything!" The Akimichi teased with glee while Himawari giggled. "Plus, she chose to be on our side!"

The quartet heard incoherent grumblings from Boruto and more whispering from his teammates from behind the opposing snow fort. The blond tensed at the brief silence before a sudden storm of snowballs hurled towards them, causing his team to duck down in safety.

 _How could there be so many of them?_ He glanced at Shikadai who seemed to have been thinking the same.

"Are you guys using shadow clones? We agreed that no one could use ninjutsu or anything!" The Nara called out, his teal eye twitching in irritation. The barrage of snowballs abruptly stopped.

That was when Sarada and Mitsuki both ceremoniously halted at each side of their snow fort, hands armed with snowballs.

He narrowed his eyes as he faced the Uchiha.

The surge of snowballs was just a distraction. His team was caught in a trap.

"You can never be too sure if the enemy were to break the pact, right?" Sarada easily informed with a glint in her crimson eyes. _Sharigan._ "It's also more fun this way."

He sprang into action and raced towards the prodigy, very narrowly dodging a well-aimed snowball. But to his, and Sarada's, surprise, Himawari got to her first with _Byakugan_ now activated. Inojin felt a pang of alarm as the young girl struck the startled Uchiha at the core and back of the neck, eliciting a painful cry into the air, causing the others to freeze in shock.

His green eyes widened when the crimson _Sharigan_ faded away into onyx as Sarada fell backwards onto the snow, eerily motionless. He slowly looked between Himawari, whose _Byakugan_ disappeared now and looking horrified of what she has done, and then to the others.

Shikadai had released his _Shadow Possession Jutsu_ from Mitsuki while Chocho and Boruto had frozen in mid-scuffle. Inojin flickered his gaze back to her.

"What have you done?" He whispered with growing fear. The others quickly gathered around the scene in disbelief. There was short moment of a stunned silence.

"It seems that Himawari has both blocked Sarada's chakra flow and paralyzed her with the help of _Byakugan_." Shikadai slowly informed with calculated teal eyes, carefully scrutinizing the still body. "We need to get her to the hospital."

Boruto glanced at his sister in sharp disapproval while the others eyed her cautiously.

"You went too far."

"I-I…didn't mean it like that," The young girl wavered, tears starting to form in her blue eyes. "I'm sorry! I need time t-to myself."

With an upset look embellishing her face, Himawari wordlessly ran off.

Inojin reached out to her distancing form but faltered and looked back to the blank onyx eyes of his friend. Mitsuki and Chocho worked together to lift her up as Shikadai hovered over them in case they needed help.

"We'll go ahead to the hospital," Mitsuki stated, taking a glance upwards. "Meanwhile, you guys should try to get to Himawari. It's starting to snow again."

The two hurriedly took off, leaving the rest in an unsettling silence while snowflakes steadily started to fall. The Nara sighed and shifted his stance, glancing between Inojin and Boruto.

"This is partially the reason why there shouldn't have been any ninjutsu used," He tiredly drawled. "Now this situation became troublesome." Inojin shook his head.

"Now's not the time to accuse whose fault this is. Let's just find Himawari and then get to the hospital. I have a feeling we all have some explaining to do."

The three simultaneously shivered at the thought of dealing with Sakura's burning wrath.

"As Sarada's teammate…I can attest to that," Boruto muttered with a deadpan. "Alright, we'll split up. I'll go to check back at my house and the park. Let's meet up back here to report afterwards." With exchanged looks, the blond Uzumaki sprinted off.

He glanced at Shikadai and with a nod, they closed their eyes and concentrated in finding her chakra signature. They weren't exactly sensor nins, but they can detect some aspect of shinobi chakra within a certain radius.

After a few moments of searching, he re-opened his eyes and frowned. _She's not anywhere near here then._

"It can't be helped. Let's look for places where she might be," His teammate informed. "I'll take a look at the Academy and the training grounds." Shikadai sped away.

 _Where could she be…at the lake?_

It seemed the most sense out of all the places Himawari would go to that Boruto and Shikadai had not mention. In addition, it was the only place that the Yamanaka could think of right now. So he hurried towards the direction of their secret lake spot.

Harsh snow whipped his cheeks and white obstructed some of his vision. The blond furrowed his eyebrows at this and barreled on as the cold wind started to pick up.

His heart began to sink in worry. He didn't remember the forecast saying that there was going to be a snowstorm during this part of the day.

Shrubs and bare trees flickered past by and the, now, frozen lake started to come into view. Inojin halted by the edge and intently looked around before something caught his attention. His green eyes faltered but he took fast steps towards the snow covered willow tree.

There was a huge, charcoal streak harrowed across the base of the willow. The area surrounding it was free of snow, as if it had vaporized all at once. On it was a lone mitten. _Himawari's_.

There was no sign of the young girl.

Inojin took a trembling step backward. He only knew one person that could have made that mark through an attack. _Chidori_. _It must be Raiku_. _But, why?_

Icy wind and snow lashed cruelly, battering the horror-struck boy. It was as if the storm was mocking him.

Then, he started to hear a voice murmuring amongst the falling snow.

" _How important is she to you? Come find her."_

He wildly looked around in sheer dread. But there was no one.

" _Look to the place where you were saved and then you shall know what we want from you. But if you choose to tell anyone of this…she won't live to see the light of another day."_

"Who-what…are you!?" Inojin shouted frantically against the wind. "What have you done to Himawari?" His ears detected a chortle.

" _I've been watching you…and Raiku was right. You are indeed an interesting one."_

He started to feel strangely nauseous and sick. The boy sharply gripped his head as his skull started to drum painfully. The world seemed to slowly spin.

Inojin droopily blinked one last time before succumbing into pitch black darkness.

* * *

He woke up with a startle from a cold sensation.

An icy drop of water trailed from his cheek and down to his chin as the boy sat up, glancing at the bare and damp tree. The sky was dark and it was raining.

 _Am I dreaming?_

The patting of balanced steps interrupted his thoughts and he shifted his head to the direction of it. His eyes widened as a woman came into view.

"It's you again," Inojin whispered.

This time she wore a white kimono and held a parasol in one hand. Her long raven hair was tied behind her and there was a binding covering her eyes. He frowned.

The woman came closer and held out her other hand, seemingly unsure of where Inojin exactly was. He gently grasped her hand and was shocked at how cold her touch was. She slowly bent down to his level.

"You must save her. There is no choice," The woman murmured with urge. "You are connected in some way with her." He gave her a disbelieved look, even though she couldn't see it.

"I think you should tell me who you are first," The Yamanaka questioned. "What is your reason for appearing before me? This is the second time…and I feel like it will probably become a fixed occurrence now."

A slight frown appeared over her features as she gave him a hesitant nod.

"Very well. I am an apparition in _your_ mind, so I am unable to acknowledge you who I truly am. And as such, I do not know the reason why I am here…Only you can figure out my identity," The raven-haired woman slowly let out a breath and continued. "As for your other question, I can only tell you that your current, and possible, actions will dictate what the future may hold."

There was a moment of silence for the information to sink into him. Rain continued to pour onto the parasol, shielding them both from being drenched. He slowly peered at the white binding covering her eyes.

"How is your vision?" Inojin asked quietly with a worrying tilt of his head. _I don't remember seeing that fold last time._ She gave him a wistful smile and softly shook her head.

"I am sightless…but you may be able to change that. It will depend on what you will do. My fate rests on your shoulders."

"What do you mean by that?" The blond was getting more concerned by the second as the woman before him paused. "Is…Himawari going to be affected too?"

"I believe I am somehow associated to both you and that girl, Himawari." He slightly flinched in surprise.

"B-But, how's that even possible?" He gaped incredulously while she helplessly shook her head in response.

"I don't know. But whenever something tragic has happened to you or her, I can seem to interact with you through dreams. That is what I have gathered based on our two meetings so far," The woman spoke softly. "In time, I am sure you will be able to find out. Whenever we do meet, I will try my best to offer as much help as I am able to."

Inojin let out a heavy sigh, gazing across to the gloomy distance. Unlike last time, where there was a field of sunflowers, they were in a forest. He looked back towards her.

"Will you be able to find where Himawari is?" The woman lightly pressed her lips together in thought.

"That voice spoke something about looking to where you were saved…Perhaps to that time Raiku and Akari saved you?" Cold realization slowly started to dawn on him from the spoken words.

"So they will be waiting for me. At that cave." He prompted. "What could they possibly want from _me_ , out of everyone else?" She gave him a sad sigh.

"Only you can find out. A difficult path seems to lie ahead of you."

Before he could say something, Inojin felt his head starting to unsteadily sway and the woman before him slowly drifted away.

"Take care, Inojin."

* * *

Mechanical beeping gradually entered his ears, stirring him blearily awake. The blond took a few blinks before remembering everything before the dream.

He swiftly rose off from the hospital bed and hastily ripped off the wire from his wrist. And then he was forcibly stopped.

"What do you think you're doing?" He visibly gulped and slowly met hardened emerald eyes. _Sarada's mom, Sakura._ "You were out for almost an hour before somebody found you." He contemplated at this.

His second encounter with the apparition seemed much longer than the first. But this time, he woke up at a faster rate. _I was close to death the first time, so I had to recover from my injuries too._ But he shook his head, trying to move free from the pink-haired medical nin's iron hold.

"I'm not injured and I need to speak to the Hokage," He looked upon her changed, sad expression, knowing that it must be about Himawari. "I have urgent information."

By now, almost everyone close to the girl and her family knew that she was forcibly taken away from Konoha. And Inojin was one of the few people to have last seen her.

"Alright. Go ahead."

Without another moment to spare, he leaped onto the marble floor and quickly rushed across the room, springing out of the hospital window. The frostbite air sharply thrashed against him, but he ignored it.

As the Hokage building came into view, Inojin acknowledged that he would have to go through with this alone. Whether or not the seventh Hokage would fully agree to the plan. There was just no other choice. He grunted in frustration at the turn of events while scaling the stairs upwards and finally reaching the office.

Inojin hastily swung open the door and was taken aback with surprise. Two heads turned to him. He glanced at a haggard looking Naruto sitting by the desk with slumped shoulders before regarding to the dark-haired traveler as the door closed. _Sasuke._

The boy rarely ever saw the man in Konoha. But when he did, Sasuke always seemed to go back to his travels, leaving his wife and Sarada again for a certain period of time. The man steadily watched at him with his one uncovered eye.

"Say what you must," Naruto monotonously said. "Sasuke would also like to hear your account of the story." He hesitated, glancing between the two men.

"As you both know now, she was kidnapped. I believe Himawari was taken by Raiku's group…however, I can't give you any more information in fear for her safety," Inojin was met with shocked blue eyes as onyx ones remained steady. He continued unwaveringly. "Please. If we have the chance to save her life, let me go on my own to take care of this."

It was absolutely ridiculous to request this. It all seemed like he was walking into a trap. And he was also just a mere Chuunin. _But what choice did they really have?_ As powerful as the two men in front of him are, Naruto had to take care of the whole village and Sasuke would not be able to deal with this alone. Through aging, their powers were also not the same as they used to be.

And if it was true that he really was connected with Himawari now for some reason, Inojin was sure that harm to her would, in turn, also affect him. He needed to know why this was happening and what they wanted him for.

"If I can, I will try to send back information on them. My loyalty is to Konoha."

The Hokage held his gaze evenly, searching for something before sadly looking away.

"…Sasuke. In all my years, I would have never thought that such danger would have to be faced by children in this era…just like in the past," Naruto murmured dejectedly with eyes downcast. "Is there no other option?"

The boy looked towards the said man and was taken aback by the revealed onyx eye, betraying a hint of inner conflict. Sasuke slightly lowered his head to evenly gaze at him.

"By doing this, you realize the dangers and sacrifices you will be forcing onto yourself? You may possibly never set foot onto Konoha soil again. Never having the chance to see your friends and family once more. And even if not, it may take months or even years for this mission to end," The man let out a weary sigh and closed his eyes, seemingly in pain. "…Do not become a martyr because you feel like it is your duty to do so."

His green eyes wavered in response as he looked down. Inojin swallowed and tried to steady himself as Sasuke's words deeply sunk into him. _Why does it seem as if…he knows what it would be like?_

It took a long moment to regain himself. But when he did, the boy looked back up with a fierce determination brimming in his eyes.

"This is part of my destiny. If doing so will prevent a conflict and save lives, I will gladly choose to go down this path." Naruto slowly considered this and finally gave a reluctant nod.

"I will give you one day to prepare. You will set out by tomorrow then," The Hokage informed with a firm smile. "I hope to hear from you soon."

" _Hai._ " The boy slightly bowed in respect before taking his leave. As Inojin turned the knob, he heard a soft mumble. He turned his head before slightly opening the door.

"Always remember that people who care for you will continue to do so, no matter what you choose to do," Sasuke lightly murmured with now softened onyx eyes. "You are very brave…and remind me of someone I knew."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I would love to get more reviews and feedback! Nevertheless, thanks everyone for reading and supporting me along the way. From here on out, things will become more challenging already for our Inojin.

Ahh that Itachi reference truly does break my heart.

Okay, until next time!


	6. Goodbye, For Now

**Author's Note:** Wow, I apologize for such a late update! Things are going a bit hectic in my life right now, so I'm more busy. But anyhow, I updated and I will try to update whenever I can. Hope this chapter makes up for the time. This has a lot more angst as Inojin leaves his family and friends behind.

Thanks so much for all the kind reviews, favorites and follows! I appreciate the growing support!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto by any means! However, Raiku, Akari, and Takeshi are my own creations.

* * *

The boy was sprawled on his bed, blankly staring up at the white ceiling.

It was the hardest thing he ever had to do.

Leaving home.

He had gotten back from the Hokage's office and went straight to his room, not even properly greeting his concerned parents. He wanted to avoid confronting his worry-stricken friends. And especially, he did not want to think about how Himawari was coping, all by herself in the enemies' clutches.

Inojin drafted his arm over his now shut eyes and exhaled out a shaky breath. _It's not right for me to act like this. Everyone's upset right now…not just me._

He flinched whe n a few soft knocks came from behind his bedroom's closed door. Inojin slowly withdrew his arm away and warily peered at the entrance in conflict. _Mom._ He can imagine the worried expression fixed upon her face.

"Inojin, may I come in?"

A moment passed and the blond nonchalantly heaved himself up with a defeated sigh.

"Hai."

The bronze door knob twisted and the door slowly opened with a slight creak as his mother stepped in. Ino stood at the doorway with furrowed eyebrows and hesitant icy blue eyes before moving towards him.

"Honey, do you want to talk?" The soothing, reassuring words beckoned to his ears, coercing him in wanting to speak out about everything to the most important woman in his life. He bit his lip. But he just couldn't. Not everything.

He nodded his head and the graceful mother sat down next to him, wrapping her arms around her troubled son. Inojin closed his eyes and nestled back as a hand lightly brushed his blond head in a comforting manner. It felt as if he was a young child again, back when there were no worries and troubles. When life was simple.

"I'm going to go on a mission very soon," He started off slowly. "And I won't be back for a while." Inojin felt his mother's hand falter from mid-brush.

The boy re-opened his eyes to analyze her reaction, but Ino continued to blankly stare ahead with a guarded expression. He inwardly let out a relieved sigh. _I guess I can keep on going then._

"I know a lot of sudden things have been happening lately," Inojin slightly shifted his head to give his mother a small, reassuring smile. "But, _Kaasan_ …please don't worry too much. Okay?" To his surprise, the woman lightly puffed in response and continued to brush his hair again.

"As a mother, I will always worry whenever you leave Konoha for a mission. No matter what you say…" The woman wistfully answered before pausing. "However, I have a feeling that this time things seem to be different." He mused at this briefly but nodded his head, ushering her to continue. "You've changed a bit, _musuko_. Ever since that mission in the Land of Rivers."

A seeping hush swathed the room.

Inojin struggled to find the right words. He didn't know how and why everything that transpired seemed to trickle around his life now. There was just so much things happening and he really wasn't all that sure of what to feel.

Bitterness began spark within the pit of his stomach as his heart started to strain painfully from each thud. _It wasn't as if I wanted it to be like this._

He was startled away from his thoughts by a sniffle. The boy looked over to his mother again, alarmed at the trail of tears left from her pained blue eyes. Ino gave him a wavering smile and gently cupped his face.

"Whatever happened to my cheerful boy? I hate to see my son so lost and confused…" Her soft voice strained before willingly stilled. His eyes wavered in response. "Is there something _Otousan_ and _Okaasan_ can do to make you happy before you leave?"

Inojin slowly opened his mouth before closing it, stunned at the pleading request from his parents. He blinked a few times and finally nodded, giving his mother a sincere smile. _If this was the last time I could possibly see them, then…_

"Can we have dinner altogether at home?" He asked, gently wiping the tears from his mother's shocked face. "With your cooking, of course." As she recovered, Ino gave him a warm look and lightly laughed before getting up.

"Of course! I'll start preparing now." Inojin grinned up to her as she started to leave the room hurriedly with a now determined gaze and fist pump. "I'm going to make all your favorite dishes!"

His green eyes softened wistfully as his mother's fiery, warm presence left him alone again.

 _I'm definitely going to miss your cooking, Kaasan._

* * *

Warm streaks of the early morning sunlight casted across to him from the window as he clasped onto his travel pack, carefully checking over his shoes. Inojin slowly breathed in as he looked back up, letting his eyes roam around, fixating, imprinting everything into memory. Permanently.

The dinner he had with his parents was slightly tense but he eased it away by praising his mother's cooking and asking how his father's art pieces were going. And now, it was time for him to leave.

He, once again, stopped at the picture of the family portrait and lingered onto the image before going onto another picture frame next to it. His feet unexpectedly carried him closer to the newer frame and he gently brought it up to his eye level. It was a picture of all his friends.

He, Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, Himawari, Shikadai and Chocho were all photographed together at the Uzumaki's place last month. It was during Hinata's birthday and all of their families came together to celebrate. One of their parents must have taken the picture while they were occupied on the couch.

The blond Chuunin let out an amused scoff as his eyes drifted over to Boruto who was captured in one of his antics, resulting into a blatantly annoyed looking Sarada. Chocho was, as per usual, eating a bag of chips, seemingly watching the two while Mitsuki was trying to be the peacemaker. Shikadai was crossing his arms and looked like he was in a middle of rolling his eyes.

Inojin's grin slowly simmered away when he fixed onto Himawari's smiling face, looking over to him. The photo was captured as they started to laugh together.

He gently placed the frame back down and brushed over the wooden corner. _I have a mission to do…I shouldn't waste any more time._ He swallowed apprehensively. _Hang in there, Himawari._

With one last glance onto the photo, the Yamanaka took swift steps out of his room and went down the stairs. As his foot touched the floor, he glanced up and a wave of surprise hit him. His parents stood side by side at the opened doorway.

"We'll miss you," Ino murmured with a wistful smile, arms outstretched. He quickly hurled into her arms and enveloped into an embrace. As they loosened, he met the dark, unsettling eyes of his father's.

"Take good care of yourself…my _musuko_." Sai affectionately patted his head and they also shared a brief hug before unwillingly letting go. He glanced between his parents and gave them a small smile.

"I'm going now."

"There's also someone waiting for you outside," Ino paused, gesturing outside the door. He gave her a look of confusion before meeting the familiar, trademark eyes of onyx. He blinked. Sarada.

A wave of shame began to wash over him. He had almost forgotten that she had been hospitalized during Himawari's kidnapping. And now, she was standing here outside the Yamanaka compound.

 _Does she know about my departure?_

"Can we talk, Inojin? Let's walk together to where you're going." With a nod, because with Sarada she would rarely accept a 'no' for an answer, Inojin finally bid his parents a farewell.

He felt his parents' gaze onto his back as every step took him farther away from the compound, but he hadn't had the heart to look back. Sarada looked from beside him in quiet contemplation, musing over something.

It was never a good sign if the Uchiha prodigy was quiet for a long time. _It's been about five minutes already._ He suppose he'll say something first.

"How do you know that I was leaving?"

"My father was the one who actually 'suggested' that I go visit you." He widened his eyes at this. Sarada carefully peered over at his reaction and continued on timidly. "I'm thinking your leaving has to do with Himawari's disappearance."

The blond didn't falter over her accurate assertion and kept on walking in pace with the kunoichi.

"You know that I can't say anything about my mission. It's confidential," Inojin finally said with a weary sigh. "You're feeling fine, right? You were at the hospital when this happened." The Uchiha gently scoffed.

"Seeing how I'm here now, Himawari didn't do too much damage and I was out after a few hours. Now, I should be asking, are _you_ alright?" Sarada questioned with a worried tone. "Okay, so suppose my theory is correct…Do you even know what you're doing by going through with this?"

"Yes. I have my suspicions that I'm going to have to be involved with the other side," Inojin firmly answered back. Onyx eyes flickered back with alarm. "Please don't tell anyone of this, Sarada."

"You're going to be in great danger. Inojin, this is basically an S-ranked mission," The raven-haired girl whispered in response. Her shaking hands clenched into fists. "I have no idea why my father and the Hokage gave you the okay. I-It shouldn't be like this."

"I'm the one who asked permission. And it was granted," Inojin stated with a comforting smile. "Besides, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who really came in contact with the enemy. I'm Konoha's best bet so far."

He glanced ahead and noticed that they were now at the front gates. It's about time he start and get going.

"Inojin, don't act like such a hero right now," Sarada mumbled shakenly as he heard her stop walking. "…You shouldn't gamble with your life."

Inojin halted and slowly turned back with rising guilt. He felt his heart drop as tears started to brim behind her glasses. With a sad look, he carefully gathered his longtime friend into a hug.

"You worry too much, Sarada. I'll be back with Himawari as soon as I possibly can," Inojin softly murmured as he rubbed her back soothingly. "I need you to be strong and take care of the others. Watch over my parents. We're going to come back safely…I promise."

He waited until she calmed down before letting go and gently gripping her shoulder. His downcast green eyes firmly looked into her slightly puffy onyx eyes.

"Take care of yourself…I'll be leaving now."

The boy dropped his arm and turned away, sprinting off towards the horizon. Trees flew past by in blurs and bare branches whisked against him. The rushing, brisk air sharply brushed his uncovered ears, but he disregarded the growing sting.

Inojin couldn't promise _both_ his and Himawari's wellbeing, but he's going to use all his power to get back Himawari and bring them home. At least, as a noble Konohagakure nin, he'll die trying.

He gritted his teeth and took one last glance back as his village's proximity started inching away. _Konoha…This is goodbye, for now._

* * *

Mist evenly swept away as he continued on in a steady pace. After two days of continuous travel with minimum breaks, he was nearing the border between the Lands of Fire, River and Grass, where he will eventually meet whoever was waiting at the cave.

During the two days of travel, it had been very quiet. He suppose it's due to him always being around his other three teammates. Inojin hummed dully. _It's quite lonely on a solo mission._ But it was the reality of taking on almost any higher ranked mission.

His thoughts were interrupted as the slow gurgling of a familiar river creek casually trickled into his ears before breaking through the bare forest shrubs. Landing neatly onto a large rock in the middle of the calm brook, he stopped to take several breaths and glanced around the river perimeter. The mist wasn't too visible here compared to the forest depths.

Inojin stilled as he fixated onto a cave opening just a few ways up ahead within a small rocky mountain. _It's here._

He wasn't too sure what they exactly had in store, but it didn't bother him. First, he just needed to make sure Himawari was fine. He'll just have to improvise once the meeting goes along.

Inojin jumped off and landed onto the bed of pebbles, sprinting towards the dark entrance that was slightly covered with old vines. With this much noise, they're bound to know he has arrived.

As he took a step into the cave's gravel floor, the sound echoed across the rocky walls. Slow drips of precipitation from the sharp pillars of the ceiling casually fell onto the stone ground. It was almost as if the cave has been uninhabited and untouched.

He suddenly stopped and observed across to the shadowy depths.

Almost.

His green eyes narrowed as two very familiar figures surfaced from the shadows. He stiffened, recognizing three chakra signatures in the cave. _Hm, but…who's the fourth one?_

"Very good. Your sensoring abilities are truly commendable for your age."

"Raiku…and Akari." The Yamanaka coolly replied back, eying between the two. "Where's my friend?"

"She's right here," The red-haired medical nin murmured, stepping sideways to show a smaller figure clutching her hand. Inojin cautiously eyed the hand contact, but quickly scrutinized the girl's appearance.

Himawari's hair was slightly disheveled and she was now wearing casual, light-colored winter clothing. Gleaming blue eyes stared back to him as she gave him a small smile. He relaxed a bit.

Overall, it seemed like she was greatly taken care of more so than being held a hostage. _How strange._ Inojin looked back to the Lightning rogue nin.

"We would like your cooperation in working with us," Raiku calmly said. "In exchange, we won't harm this girl. You also owe the fact that we saved you from death."

With an eyebrow slightly quirked up, he began to contemplate. They seem to know an extent of his friendship with Himawari and wanted him to ultimately work for them. In exchange for her safety.

 _Do they know about our connection_? _But an even better question…Do they know the relation she attains with the current Seventh Hokage?_

He slowly looked back towards Himawari, and they exchanged looks. Inojin understood. She did not tell them when possibly interrogated. And it helped that she did not have blond hair and looked like Naruto.

 _Good. Her identity must be kept safe._

"Alright. But why choose me, of all people?" The dark-haired man gestured toward the shadow, and another figure finally stepped into view. Inojin couldn't help but shiver at the sudden surge of chakra spilling over the cave's proximity.

"Our leader, Takeshi, specifically chose you."

The man looked older than Raiku, about middle aged, sporting shoulder length black hair tied with a low pony tail and clothed in standard gray ninja garb. A sword hung by the left waist and a dragon-like embroidered around metal plate covered his upper body.

"So, this is him…Raiku?"

"Yes, Takeshi-sama."

Black eyes seemed to stare straight into the depths of his very soul as he willingly held himself to eye back the leader of the group. The intense stare-down lasted until the man let out a chuckle.

"I heard you have great potential within you, Inojin Yamanaka. You are sure to bring much positivity in toward our goals."

"What goals, may I ask?"

A quiet hush occupied the space. The blond glimpsed back towards Raiku and Akari as they exchanged tense looks to each other, while Himawari nervously fidgeted at their current standoff.

Finally, the man in question smirked.

"I'm assigning you on a mission. Consider it a test. Get it done, and perhaps you'll gain my trust."

Inojin did not hesitate to give a firm nod, fiercely looking at his new leader with determination before gesturing towards Himawari.

"And when I come back, will this then guarantee…her freedom?" Takeshi shifted his head to glance at her way before eying him back.

"We'll see."

But before he could retort something back, Himawari stepped in.

"Inojin…I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." He looked back at the girl with conflict. There was too much at stake if she were to be left alone with them. They could go against their promise and kill her.

 _Plus with this new found connection with her…could it affect me somehow? That's what the apparition warned me about._

A tired sigh was heard from the leader, and Inojin focused back on him.

"Very well. She can go along with you then," Takeshi inquired steadily before focusing onto his other two group members. Raiku and Akari stiffened as their leader addressed them. "You will both go along with them."

"Hai."

The mission could be outright dangerous, but he would still very much rather have an eye on Himawari rather than her with Takeshi and, possibly, the other organization's members. He nodded at the deal.

"Okay. May I ask what our mission is?"

"My…spies have informed me of a strong shinobi that would be of a great asset of our cause. Successively coerce him into joining our organization."

 _Okay, that doesn't sound too bad._

"When and where will we head off?"

That was when Takeshi gave him a spin chilling grin as his eyes started to gleam sadistically.

The Yamanaka gulped nervously before helplessly looking towards the direction of his other two, now, teammates. Both Raiku and Akari had stricken grim expressions upon their faces.

 _This…does not look good._

A detectible twitch started to appear from the corner of the Lightning nin's right eye. And Akari just downright looked like she was forced to be cleaning the organization's base bathrooms for the rest of her life.

Inojin slowly looked back to the leader with new found dread.

"Start to prepare. You will all be going to the Land of Snow."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Well now, I guess we're heading off towards the Land of Snow! Takeshi seems to be kind shifty, eh? And we get to reunite with Raiku, Akari and finally, Himawari! I wonder how things will go with our new team? Will Inojin fully trust Raiku and Akari again?

R&R as always! Until next time~

 _musuko_ = son


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